Description:

Color is a tool used by writers to enhance their descriptive writing and create mind pictures for the reader. The mentor texts listed above can be used to show students how different authors use the concept of color to develop their ideas. We can even have students borrow the structure of these books and explore colors on their own. The following lesson is an example:

Color Poems

Read aloud Hailstones and Halibut Bones by Mary O’Neill. Have each child select a color to write about. Ask, “If you could taste this color, what would it taste like? If you could hear it, what would it sound like?” Repeat with all 5 senses. Have students record their ideas on a planning sheet (pp. 107-108). On their first drafts most students will use simple sentences such as,

“Blue is the sight of the sky.”

“Pink is the taste of watermelon.”

Encourage them to expand these sentences to include more description to create mind pictures for the reader:

“Blue is the sight of the sky when the cumulus clouds

are moving to different parts of the sky.” by Jaymi

“Pink is the taste of watermelon squirting juice

in my mouth when I bite into a piece.” by Kelly

After students complete their drafts on the planning sheets, have them write color poems using some of the words and phrases and then illustrate.

“He calls to me with a promise in his voice, and I run, seeing his hand curl
like a flower budding, then unfolding wide so I can see the pink circle of a
worm, the round beetle shining in gold armor, …or the leaf-green mantis
balancing today on long thin legs.”